SDO9433 - A Proposed Residential Development at Red Cow Farm, St George’s Road, Dorchester, Dorset: Results of an archaeological evaluation

An archaeological field evaluation of a proposed residential development site at Red Cow Farm, St George’s Road, Dorchester, was carried out by AC archaeology during June 2004. The site lies on the eastern fringe of Dorchester, on land to the west of the by-pass, immediately adjacent to the River Frome. The evaluation comprised the machine-excavation of twelve trenches; an approximate 2% sample of the site, excluding the farmyard and buildings. A small number of archaeological features were identified in the southern half of the site. These comprised four intercutting ditches in Trench 2, two parallel linear features in Trench 11 and a posthole in Trench 12. A small quantity of animal bone and worked flint, which is considered to be later prehistoric in date was recovered from two of the linear features in Trench 2, while finds from Trench 11 include medieval and post-medieval pottery. An extensive area of early 20th century infilling, which includes a bottle dump covered the majority of the northern area of the site.